


Forever and Always

by KelliDiane



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M, Mentions of Cancer, Unrequited Love, lots of flashbacks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-20
Updated: 2013-08-20
Packaged: 2017-12-24 03:24:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/934736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KelliDiane/pseuds/KelliDiane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I love you, forever and always."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Forever and Always

It's eight at night and Niall's worried. Worried is an understatement. He's frantic beyond belief.

Louis was supposed to be home three hours ago, his shift at the office ended at four thirty.

Niall's sitting at their shared table, dinner ice cold in front of him. Every few seconds his eyes dart to the clock and to the door. He tried calling, but he didn't answer.

The phone blares through the house breaking the silence. The caller ID reads 'Prince of Wales Hospital' and the ringing keeps at it, persistent. The shrill noise ends abruptly and there is a moment of peace. It starts again though with the same name flashing in tiny black text across the screen.

Niall shuffles to the home phone frowning at the name. Why on earth would a hospital be calling? Unless..."Oh my God."

He hastily answers the phone almost dropping it in the process. "Hello?"

"Good evening, sir. This is Elizabeth down at Prince of Wales Hospital.  Do you know a..." Shuffling papers and muted questions travel through the wire. "Sorry, making sure I had the right file. Um, do you know a Louis Tomlinson?"

Niall's heart stops. All the spit in his mouth dries and it feels like his tongue is wrapped in gauze. "Uh... He's... He's my fiancé."

Is Louis in the hospital? Is something wrong with him? Of course there is, there has been.

"Sir, you should probably come down here right away. They're running some tests right now, but they haven't come to a conclusion quite yet. The doctor can tell you more when you arrive."

"Thank you." He hangs up having to brace himself against the counter with how shaky his legs were.

"Oh God." He tries to calm himself down but how could he not have realized how serious it was? It was so obvious. The past eleven months.

\------------

_"Lou?" Niall licks his frost bitten lips. February was always below freezing, with icy winds and freshly fallen snow. "Snow's your favorite and you're not outside with me."_

_Louis' response was a coughing fit that wracked his entire body. He wanted to be out there, but he was sick. "Sorry, babe. I'm just not feeling well today. I think I caught something from a coworker or something."_

_He smiles from the entrance to their home where he leans against the door frame to hold himself up since he has no energy. He's wrapped in layers of blankets so he can keep warm, but he's still freezing and yet sweltering at the same time._

_Niall frowns shaking off the melting snowflakes dusting his bottle blonde hair. "It's not the same. I can't build the perfect snowman without you." He steps forward and he wants to hug him but he's ice cold, cheeks red from hypothermia. Louis' sick, much too sick to hug him. "It's not the same."_

_Louis' smile falters slightly. "I'm sorry. Let me go get changed and I'll be right out. I'm already sick. Why worry about a little snow?" His smile diminishes as he turns from Niall to head back to their room. Another coughing fit overtakes him and he brings his hand up to cover his mouth. When he pulls it away, small drops of blood cover his hand, but he quickly hides it so Niall doesn't pester him about going to the doctor._

_Niall leans against the door hearing the cough from down the corridor. "Baby, never mind." He bites the inside of his cheek nose as red as his cheeks and the tips of his ears. "You sound terrible."_

_"Are you sure?" Louis called out as he reached their bedroom. He blinked a few times before redirecting to the bathroom to wash the blood from his hands. He looks in the mirror and wipes at the small flecks of red on his lips. He knows he needs a doctor, but he can't go- he won't go._

_Niall can't wait. He enters their small bathroom burying his face in between Louis' shoulder blades. "I'm sure." He kisses his bare back. Louis isn't wearing a shirt, but he had been bundled with a few thick blankets his mum had knitted together. "Are you sure you're fine? You've been sick for at least a month."_

_"I'll be fine. Don't worry about it. I'll just keep drinking orange juice and eating chicken noodle soup." Louis smiles and turns around and presses a soft kiss to the boy's forehead._

_"I love you, Ni. Forever and always."_

_Niall closes his eyes breathing in Louis' scent. "You're not fine though. You're sick."_

\------------

He opens his eyes, but now he's back in his kitchen leaning against the sink for support. Louis' not with him he's in the hospital.

"Fuck," he picks the phone off the hook dialing Zayn's telephone number.

"Hello?" A higher-than-Zayn's voice answers the phone and the sound of gum being chewed can distinctly be heard. After a few seconds of silence, a sigh is heard before the voice speaks again. "Hello? Malik residence. This is Perrie."

Niall's hand clenches around the phone. "It's Niall. Can you give the phone to Zayn please?" He needs a friend and if Zayn didn't get on he'd call Liam instead.

"Oh hey, Niall." The voice sounds perkier now that she recognises who it is. "Zayn's not home from work yet. He called and said the boss was keeping him after hours to work on some accounting mistake." She pauses for a second at the background noise cuts out entirely. "Anything I can help you with, doll?"

Niall sighs. "No, no. Just... Just tell him I called." He hangs up this time trying Liam. He needs someone.

"Hello? Niall?" The male's voice filtered through the speaker and into Niall's ear. "What's up? Shouldn't you and Louis be picking out flower centrepieces or something?" A laugh runs through the wire. "So what's up, Ni?"

Niall's voice trembles, and it's all he can do to cry. "Li... Li, Louis' in the hospital." He can't help the tears that spring from his eyes. He's so scared- so, so scared- and it's almost painful.

"What? Why? Better question, why are you calling me? You need to be at the hospital." The voice is slightly frantic and rustling can be heard in the background. "Do you need me to pick you up? Do you want me there or do you want to be alone?"

"Please come? I need someone there. Just to reassure me that I'm overreacting and that Louis' going to be fine." Niall doesn't stay on the phone long. "I'll see you, just drive here fast." Niall glances outside and it's snowing. Snowing, the one thing Louis loves so much because that's how they met.

\------------

_"Liam, why? I can skip a day of classes no big deal." Niall hates snow and the fact that his best friend is making him trudge through it just to make it to their high school. He's about to add when a compact snowball hits him square across the jaw._

_Laughter tumbles from Louis' lips as he runs over to the boy he hit. "Sorry, mate. Wasn't aiming for you. Your fault though. You shouldn't walk through a war zone." He gives the blond a giant smile. It disappears quickly though as a snowball hits him straight in the face._

_"Ha! Got you, Tomlinson!"_

_The cheery boy snarls. "You might want to move along. Things are about to get cold between Malik and I."_

_Niall's nose scrunches his fingers curling into fists. "My fault? I'll have you know that this is a parking lot not a war zone. Why don't you play your childish game at home?" He wipes the water splattered across his cheek glaring the entire time._

_"Childish game? Oh no. That's it. You're being enlisted, Corporal!" Louis takes Niall's backpack and flings it into the snow next to his own._

_Grabbing the blond's wrist, he drags him over and behind the small fort and shoves him next to the mountain of pre-made snowballs. "Alright. I'm assuming I don't have to teach you how to throw."_

_Niall gapes at this stranger. "Look, whatever your name is I actually care about my grades. Don't lay a finger on me and don't think I'll stoop to your level." He's not a rude person, but he is tired. And when he's tired he's stressed._

_"Whoa, chill. Just relax and have fun. We'll get to school... Eventually. Right now though, you're main goal," he said as he hands the new kid a snowball, "is to hit tall, dark, and sexy in the face with that snowball." The brunet looks cautiously over the mound of white to check their target. "Oh," he looks back down at the boy, "my name's Louis."_

_Niall groans looking towards the snow melting in his now cold and wet palm. "Niall." He's tempted to drop it but that wouldn't be nice. "And I hate snow."_

_"What!" Louis looks incredulously at his new mate. "Zayn! Truce! I need your help!" With that, he scrambling to climb over his own defence and over to the darker male who is now standing behind his own fort. "This kid says he hates snow! What do we do? That's not natural!"_

_Zayn gapes. "You can't hate it! It's so beautiful and, yeah, it's cold but it's so much fun."_

_Niall rolls his eyes crossing his arms. "Look, I have a social life to get back to I don't need to explain that snow is wet and cold."_

_"What are you?" Louis exclaims as he starts poking at the boy's exposed skin. "A robot? An alien? A eighty year old man stuck in this fit body?" He grabs a handful of snow and smashes it onto of the blond locks and smiles. "What are you going to do about that?"_

_Niall growls tackling him into the pile of snow destroying the fort. "Is this what you want?" His glare drops cheeks coloring. "Wait did you just call me fit?"_

_The brunet struggles under the strength of the blond. He's about to give up when Niall gets distracted and he's able to switch their positions so he's pinning Niall to the snow. Louis smiles brightly down at him. "Well yeah I called you fit. I mean, it's true."_

_Niall shivers, but he's not sure if it's due to the snow or the fact that this lad finds him attractive. "Never been hit on by a guy. This is new." He bites into his lip peering up at the boy from underneath his frozen eyelids. "Unless this is psychological warfare since we're at war."_

_Louis laughs loudly and tosses his head back. "Nice thinking, but nope. Congratulations, you've just been hit on by a guy." He rolls off of Niall into the snow and takes a deep breath and glances at the blond. "So what's it feel like to get hit on by an attractive guy?"_

_Niall can't help chuckle. "You're kind of conceited aren't you?" He buries his red and frozen fingers into his lap in an attempt to warm them. "It's different. You're better looking than half the girls who hit on me."_

_"Conceited? Not me. It's just that I am who I am." Louis shrugs and goes to help the boy up._

_Once they're both back on their feet and they've all laughed at Niall and Louis' wet bums, Louis grabs their backpacks and hand Niall's his. "I'm better looking than most girls. I blame my radiant mum for that."_

_Niall smiles softly. "Well your parents have a great gene pool." He bites his lip kicking at the snow around him. "I guess I'll see you?"_

_"Uh, yeah. Zayn and I usually meet up after school for movies or video games. Do you maybe want to join us?" Louis smiles at the boy. He doesn't know why, but he suddenly feels shy and unsure of himself._

_Niall blushes pink. "Is this an informal way of asking me on a date?" He really hopes it is unless he's reading too far into this._

_Louis looks down at the snow and can feel his face heating up. "That really depends on your answer." He looks up at the blond and hopes he says yes so he can quickly run and get away from the boy who is making his stomach twist uncomfortably._

_"Well then it's a date." He bumps shoulders with Louis. "Guess you can help warm me up." He winks flirtatiously and where is this coming from?_

_Louis smiles wolfishly. "Of course. Wouldn't dream of letting you get warm by yourself or letting someone else warm you up."_

_The school warning bell rings and Louis knows he's going to be late, but he's pretty sure that his grades can wait because he's got a date with a blond haired hottie._

_Niall bites into his lip kissing Louis' cheek quickly. "You're cold."_

\------------

And of course that's when the final bell rings, but really it's Liam's horn honking.

Niall dresses as fast as possible heading outside and sliding into his friend's car. "Thanks."

"No problem." Liam mumbles as he shifts his car into drive and pulls away. He lets a silence fall over them. He's merging into traffic when he finally speaks again. "Did they say why he was there? Do you know anything?"

Niall shakes his head. He doesn't trust himself to speak. It's silent for a while but eventually he just can't hold it in. "What if something is seriously wrong with him?" He looks frantically at Liam. He can't handle that right now. They are getting married in three months coming in March.

"Hey, don't worry. I'm sure he just forgot to eat or something and has low blood sugar or something. They're probably just overreacting." Liam's grip on the wheel tightens and his foot applied more pressure to the accelerator. Even he didn't believe the words he was saying.

Niall lets out a watery laugh. "He may have a small tummy, but Louis' healthy. He's never had a problem with blood sugar." He fidgets in his seat hoping to get there. "Should have known something was wrong. He's lost thirty pounds and he's always coughing. I should have made him see a doctor."

"He would have fought you the whole time. You know that. Just wait until you talk to a doctor. Don't freak out until there's something to feet over." He pulls into a parking spot and quickly turns off the car. He gets out and looks over at Niall once more. "Just remember that whatever it is, I'm here for you. Okay?"

Niall nods climbing out. He looks at his cold hands. It's not the same now that there isn't someone to warm them with.  "I just freak out. I naturally freak out." Niall can think of plenty of times.

\------------

_"But, Li, Haz, what if he doesn't like me?" Niall bites his lip._

_Harry cocks an eyebrow. "You're going round his to play a video game you're not getting married."_

_Liam chuckles. "Niall, he hit on you. Pretty sure he likes you, mate. Just calm down. You're acting crazy." He looks over at his friend and rolls his eyes. Niall hasn't even known the guy for twenty minutes and he's already freaking out over him._

_Niall groans shaking his head. "What if I'm too bookish? Too nerdy? Oh God, what if I suck?"_

_Harry smirks. "Pretty sure he'll appreciate the you sucking part."_

_Liam lightly hits Harry upside the head. "Everything has to be sexual with you doesn't it?" He turns back to Niall and smiles. "Maybe he'll see that as a challenge. Like he wants you to have lots of fun so he'll make you forget about the books."_

_Harry pouts rubbing at his head. "Yes, yes it does. Sex makes everything worth living for."_

_Niall ignores Harry in favor of talking to Liam. "I don't know. I'm leaving in a few. Louis said he'd get me. Oh God how do I look? Do I look okay?"_

_Harry groans. "Do you feel okay? The amount of estrogen you're giving off right now says otherwise."_

_Liam glares over at Harry. "You're not being particularly helpful at all. Why are you even here?" He gives Niall a quick once over. "You look great. I still don't understand why you had to change anyway. You looked fine in the other outfit too."_

_Harry shrugs. "Louis wants to see a P not a V and this boy is growing a vagina."_

_Niall flips him off the doorbell ringing. He dashes out of the room carding his fingers through his hair finally opening the door. "Hi."_

_Louis looks up from his shoes and locks his gaze on Niall. "Hey. You look... Wow." He feels so stupid for walking over in the snow in his toms since he must now look like a complete idiot, but at least Niall looks breathtaking._

_Niall flushes. "Um, is wow bad? I... I could change again." He rubs his knuckles together. "Zayn's coming, right? The three of us?"_

_"No! Wow is good. Wow is very good." He drags his eyes from Niall's torso up to his eyes and it takes a minute to process what the blond had asked. "Oh, uh, actually Zayn won't be there. He has a project due tomorrow and he hasn't even started it yet. I figured we'd be okay to watch a movie or something together."_

_Niall's breath hitched. Alone, they'd be alone- unless Louis has siblings. "So we'll have your house... To ourselves... With no one around?" He grabs his keys and phone calling for Harry and Liam to go invade someone else's house for the time being._

_Liam has Harry's wrist in his hand and is pulling the boy down the hall to the door. "Have fun while you leave me with this mess of a person."_

_Louis chuckles and watches as all three of them step outside. "Uh, yeah. We'll be alone. Is that a deal breaker because I can call Zayn and plead or Liam and Curly can come with us..."_

_Niall shakes his head. "No! No that's fine. I was just confirming our being alone."_

_Harry sticks his tongue out grinning at Louis. "That's Niall code for he wants to suck your cock."_

_Louis quirks an eyebrow and looks questioningly at the curly haired boy. "Uh, I mean, I didn't really plan on that..."_

_Liam grabs at Harry's ear and starts to pull him down the sidewalk. "Well bye, Niall. I'll text you tomorrow!"_

_Niall's so horrified. It couldn't be worse. "Um so... Let's go." He could just die right there really. He follows Louis down the sidewalk feeling anxious. God if Harry just made this awkward he would kill him._

_"Sooooo..." Louis tries to make conversation as they walk, but his mind is stuck on what the other boy said. He clears his throat and tries again. "You have... Interesting friends. I mean, Liam seems nice, but I've never even seen Curly before."_

_Niall nods. And it's now awkward. "That's Harry or was Harry. You'll never have to worry about him. Once I'm through, the morgue will need dental records to identify his body." He bites the inside of his cheek, hesitantly sticking his hands in his pockets._

_Louis chuckles. "He's fine. Zayn would do the same thing to me had the roles been reversed." He turned onto the next street over and went to the second house on the street. "Well this is it. Also, I'm sorry for any girly clothing or products you might see. I have four sisters and a mum, it's kind of inevitable."_

_Niall chuckles nodding. "The joy of only having a brother." He steps inside once he's allowed to. It was a quaint little home really. He strips off his hoodie, hanging it on the coat rack._

_Louis toes off his soaking wet toms, and peels off his top layer and tosses it in the laundry room as he passes it. "So, this is my house. Not much, but it serves its purpose." He heads into the living room and jumps onto the sofa and sprawls out across it. "So what kind of movie are you in the mood for? We've got Disney, action, adventure, comedy, romance, mummy porn- at least that's what I call it... Take your pick." He moves his legs so Niall has a spot on the couch next to him._

_Niall sits down eyebrows furrowed. "Mummy porn? Do I want to know?" He's sitting a bit stiffly, back arched and hands folded in his lap._

_"You know how older women have those movies where they just want to fuck once they've watched them? That's mummy porn." Louis shrugs and looks over at the boy. He doesn't seem comfortable and that's one thing that Louis doesn't like. "Hey, man, relax. You control the evening. You want something, you'll get it."_

_Niall nods relaxing back against the sofa. "Well as interesting as mummy porn sounds I think I'll pass it up." He glances at Louis. "How about Peter Pan? I like Peter Pan."_

_Louis' eyes light up like a kid's on Christmas. "Yes! I love that movie. I have three versions of it. Do want the musical, the Disney, or the live action version?" He scurries off the couch and over to the DVD rack flipping through his section. "Oh, who cares which one! They're all amazing!"_

_"Disney. Classic." Niall chuckles fully relaxing with how giddy Louis looked. "I don't like Disney princess movies, but I like the few movies that aren't about princes and princesses." He shrugs folding his legs underneath his body._

_Louis nods. "I get it. If I have to watch Tangled one more time, I'm going to throw myself out the window." He chuckles and pops the movie in before crawling back over to the couch and hoisting himself up in the corner seat- the middle seat left awkwardly open between them. "I think my second favourite Disney movie is Robin Hood."_

_Niall nods the room now silent. He licks over his dry lips. "Yeah Lion King is mine." He bites his lip. Maybe Zayn should have come along._

_Louis felt a little uncomfortable and he was pretty sure that it wasn't just him. "Niall?" He looked over at the boy and lost his train of thought. He just stared over at the boy and looked him over again and again. "I, uh... Do you want some snacks? I'll get them."_

_Niall brightens nodding. "Yeah, food sounds great." If he's eating he'll be able to ignore the tension in the room. Niall stands. "Need any help?"_

_"Uh, sure. I don't even know what you like so you would be helpful." Louis scratches at the back of his neck. He leads them into the small kitchen and opens the pantry. "So what are you in the mood for?"_

_Niall smirks. You he wants to say, but he's neither bold nor confident. "Uh, crisps?" He walks up their shoulders touching when he peered into the small shelved area._

_Louis nods and grabs the bag before turning. He hadn't realised Niall was that close though and he stood there with his face merely centimetres from Niall's. "C-crisps for you." His gaze flickered to Niall's mouth before coming back up to his eyes. "Anything else I can do for you?"_

_Niall notices the way his gaze flickers. "Yeah you could hold still... And not get mad." He leans forward, his cheeks blushing even before he kissed him._

_Louis dropped the crisps and immediately brought his arms up to wrap around the boy's neck. He let his eyes flutter shut as he kisses Niall back. When they pull away for sir, Louis looks at Niall and smiles. "Definitely not mad, mate."_

_Niall sighs in relief. "Well now it shouldn't be so awkward, broke the ice." He bends over to retrieve his snack still hungry although his stomach fluttered happily._

_Louis chuckles. "Yeah. Now if it gets awkward I'll just kiss you. Problem solved. Just let me know when you feel awkward." He smiles brightly and moves to the fridge. "What do you want to drink? Tea, pop, water, something else?"_

_"Whiskey?" Niall smiles moving back towards the living room and sprawling out on the sofa. "Glad you're okay with me kissing you." Niall flushes, speaking from where he's relaxed tearing the bag open._

_Louis frowns as he shuts the fridge and moves into the dining room where he liquor cabinet and managed to get it move and grab a bottle of the brown liquid. Making his way back through the kitchen to get to the living room, he grabs two tumbler glasses. "No problem. Kissing isn't the only think I can think of doing with you, but I'm not drunk enough to even ask you about that yet."_

_Niall frowns giving himself a once over. "Are you implying you have to be drunk to hook up with me?"  He turns his nose up to Louis sticking a few of the baked snacks into his mouth._

_"No! I'm saying that I have to be drunk to even think talking about that stuff is okay. Trust me, I'd sleep with you sober." Louis bites his lip knowing that his comment is way out of line. He opens the bottle and pours himself and Niall a half glass before handing Niall his._

_Niall cocks his eyebrow. "Well why don't you set that glass down and prove it to me?" He sets the bag on the floor downing the shot before setting the glass down too._

_Louis has the rim of the glass against his lip and stops to look questioningly at Niall. "You're serious about this? We just met this morning!" He doesn't know what to do. He knows he should just walk away from this, but he really likes Niall._

_Slowly he sets his glass on the table in front of him and crawls across the couch into Niall's lap. He looks at Niall before leaning forward and pressing their lips together roughly._

_Niall tangles his fingers in Louis' fringe tugging lightly. "If you don't want to you don't have to." He doesn't exactly give him a lot of time to answer parting his lips in favor of nudging his tongue against Louis' lips._

_Louis parts his lips just so and brushes his tongue against Niall's softly. "I want to do this. I've just always been a bottom before." He pulled back and started playing with the blond's shirt. "You sure about this?"_

_Niall sits up shrugging his shirt over his shoulders and dropping it to the floor. "I'm positive." He reconnects their lips, tongues twisting together in a slippery wet kiss._

_Louis manages to squeak his surprise before Niall presses their lips together roughly. He lets his hand wander across the pale expanse and reaches for the hem of his own shirt. He pulls back from Niall and slips his shirt over his head and drops it somewhere on the floor. He reattaches his lips to Niall's neck and nips and sucks at the flesh there._

_Niall groans raking his nails down Louis' back harshly. "Ugh, Lou." He turns his head extending his neck to give him a better angle. "Fuck."_

_Louis grinds his hips down into Niall and feels his jeans getting tighter. His tongue traces the teeth marks on the boy's neck before dipping down to his collarbone. "You want me to fuck you? Is that what you want?" He whispers into the boy's skin._

_Niall doesn't trust his voice, nodding instead. He swallows thickly spreading his legs. "Please?" His voice is higher than normal having gone up an octave with the pleasure racing through him. He mewls at the way he's grinding down and how Louis' tongue and teeth are working. "Better than a girl."_

_Louis pulls back and looks at him for a second before shyly reaching down and going for his own belt. "You ever done this before?" He finally gets his belt undone and unbuttons and unzips his trousers. He hooks his thumbs in the sides ready to take them off before looking back up at Niall._

_"Uh, once. I was sloshed and so was Harry." His face flushes at the parts he could remember from that night. "He didn't make it awkward though which I really appreciated." He runs the pads of his fingers down Louis' back, but much more softly._

_Louis nods before shoving his trousers and pants down together and leaving him bare in front of Niall. He feels a little shy, but smoothly reaches towards Niall's jeans and starts to tug at the material. "I'm guessing you bottomed then? Harry doesn't seem like the type to just roll over and take it."_

_Niall laughs. "Yeah, I did. Harry's not the bottoming type of guy." He gasps when he feels Louis' bare erection pressed against his thigh. "Wow you're not small."_

_Louis chuckles. "Thanks. Never thought I was, but I'm glad you think so." He finishes opening Niall's jeans and pulls them down slowly, kissing every inch of skin as it's exposed. He drops them on the floor with the rest of the clothes before playing with the waistband of his boxers. "Last chance to back out."_

_Niall shakes his head. "No, I really want this." He licks his way back into Louis' mouth hands tracing his muscles and the dimples in his lower back._

\------------

Liam placed his hand on the small of Niall's back and led him inside to the nurses' desk. "We're here for a Louis Tomlinson? You guys called and said it was urgent."

The nurse looks up at him and smiles softly. "Are you related to Mister Tomlinson?"

Niall swallows thickly. "I'm his fiancé. Please I really need to see him. Know how he's doing." He frowns batting the tears away. They hadn't even told him anything and he's already crying.

She clicks through the computer log and the smile disappears. "I'm going to page the doctor. You can wait over there for him. I'm sure you'll want to hear this from him."

Liam frowns, but guides Niall over to the chairs to wait for the doctor. "I'm sure it's fine Niall. It's probably just standard procedure."

Niall looks incredulous. "Did you not see the smile turn into a frown? Something's wrong I just know it." He bites into his lip wiping at the tears that already formed. "He was at work. What could have happened?"

"Niall, don't freak out. You don't know anything yet." Liam wraps his arms around Niall and holds him close. "Just think about how much Louis loves you and wouldn't want you worrying about him."

Niall curls into Liam. A few seconds later an extremely tall lad jogged into the room, it's Harry. "Liam texted me." He sat on the other side of Niall rubbing his back. He feels terrible for what's happening.

Liam smiled sheepishly. "Thought you might want your other friend here too."

A man in a white coat walked out with a clipboard in hand and scanned the area looking at the people waiting for loved ones. "Louis Tomlinson?"

Niall jumps up almost crowding the man's space. "Yeah that's us. Is he okay?"

Harry stays sitting gingerly reaching across the chairs to grip Liam's fingers.

The doctor looks down at his chart and heavy sighs. "Well, uh, I'm not really sure how to put this so I'm sorry if come across as harsh or uncaring. Mister Tomlinson has pancreatic cancer."

Liam looks over at Harry and bites his lip. That's not what any of them want to hear. Louis has a full life ahead of him.

Niall's heart drops. The C word, and God it had been so obvious. "He'll live right? Why's he in here in the first place?" He wraps his arms around himself tears lining his eyes.

The doctor looks down at the ground. "I'm sorry. Pancreatic cancer is the worst because it's so hard to detect. Most people think they just have a cold or they'll get better. Most cases are terminal and aren't detected until too late." He flips over a page and reads the report. "He collapsed at work and they couldn't revive him so that's why he's here. It seems like his vital organs are shutting down. I'd give him... Three hours? A day at the most."

Niall's legs give out. He's on the ground, but he's not crying. His breathing is labored and his palms are sweaty, but his cheeks are dry. "No God. He said forever."

\------------

_"Hypothetically if I were to say I love you would you be freaked out?" Niall bites into his lip while they walked through the melting snow from school._

_Louis lands in a puddle of melting snow, satisfied by the splash that it makes. "That would depend. Would you mean it or are you saying that because you want something?"  He looks up at Niall and smiles as if he already knows the answer. "Or are you saying it only because we slept together and you feel like you have to say it?"_

_Niall licks his lips tugging on one backpack strap. "Hypothetically what if I meant it?" He nervously chews on his bottom lip. While the sex was great the past week really had him thinking. Either he's in love or he gets attached easily._

_Louis thinks for a moment. "Hypothetically, I'd tell you I love you too. Then I'd smile shyly and reach over and grab your hand and lace our fingers together." He shrugs and jumps to the next mound of melting snow and watches as it goes flying everywhere. "Hypothetically of course though."_

_Niall nods gazing ahead. It's silent for a long time. "It's not hypothetical." He flushes pink shuffling through the ice. He slips on a patch pinwheeling his arms._

_Louis rushes to catch him, but slips himself and ends up falling on his bum. He's laughing as he gets to his feet just in time to catch Niall before wipes out. "Watch where you're going, Blondie." He chuckles as he wraps his arms around Niall's waist._

_Niall flushes. "Sorry about that. Almost killed myself." He jokes sort of hoping Louis doesn't remember that Niall just said the L word._

_Louis laughs and presses a quick kiss to his cheek. "Don't worry. I got you and I won't let you go." He slips around to the side and runs his hand down the blond's arm and laces their fingers together. "I wasn't speaking hypothetically either."_

\------------

Niall's chest is heaving God he can't breathe. Someone's rubbing his back but it's not helping. "Lou..." He wipes at his still dry eyes. Why can't he cry? He should be a mess by now.

"Niall? Niall?" Liam is calling him, trying to get his attention. His hand is rubbing at the lad's back hoping to provide comfort of some sort. "Niall, he's asking for you. He wants to see you. Come on, Louis needs you."

Niall stands with Harry's help, eyes fixated on the ground. "Okay." He absently lets Liam drag him down the corridor, but Niall's watching the rooms as they pass by. "I... I don't..." he can't even talk.

Liam stops and looks at the blond. "You don't what, Ni? Hey, you can tell me anything." He pulled the boy into a hug and held him close. "What's going on, Niall?"

Niall shakes his head. "I can't do this alone Li. I can't. Louis' my everything." He's starting to hyperventilate and he can't breathe. Someone opens his fingers. When he looks it's Harry pushing an inhaler into the palm of his hand. Harry's asthma inhaler. He takes a shot of oxygen without hesitation and strangely it calms him down. "Thanks, Harry."

Liam sighs. "Hey. It'll be okay. You'll have me and Harry and Zayn. We're not going to let go through this alone." He looks to Harry and wonders what their circle will be like now that Louis is gone. What are they going to do? "Doctor said one person at a time in his room."

There's no question that Niall's going in. Shakily he pushes the door open, close to sobbing. "Lou." He moves to his bedside pulling a chair besides it to sit down. "Lou..."

Louis stirs and opens his eyes. "Ni?" He smiles. "I missed you. I'm glad you're here." He reaches out for Niall's hand wanting his fiancé close. "How was your day, babe?"

Niall clings to Louis' hand. "It's been absolute hell. I can't... Lou, you can't just leave." His lip is quivering and he can't help what comes next, "you knew didn't you? You knew you were sick, but you didn't tell me. Didn't go through chemotherapy."

Louis swallows and sighs as best he can. "I'm sorry. I didn't want you to have to worry about money or insurance or anything." He looks down at the scratchy blanket that's covering his legs. "I looked up some of the symptoms and kind of put two and two together."

Niall drops his hand in favor of burying his face into his palms. "How? How could you do this? You proposed two weeks ago and you knew!"

\------------

_Niall's pumping his legs while Louis pushes him. The entire night he'd been strange, quiet and there was snow so he shouldn't be quiet. "Something wrong?"_

_"Not at all. Just... Got some stuff on my mind lately." Louis grabs the chains of Niall's swing and slows it to a stop. He winces at the sharp pain in his back from his action.  "You love me right? I mean, I know you love me, but... Okay this went a lot better in my head."_

_Niall laughs leaning back against Louis, his beanie warming his red ears. "Of course I love you." He looks down at the snow he's absently kicking around. "So what's this about?"_

_Louis kisses the side of his neck and rests his chin on his boyfriend's shoulder. "You remember how we met? What kind of day it was and everything?" He moves till he's standing in front of Niall and looking down at the boy he loves. "That was three years ago today."_

_Niall nods smiling. "I know. I knocked you into a snow drift." He laughs hard at the memory grin never leaving. "Then we had sex later that day."_

_Louis chuckles and coughs lightly. He needs to do this now before he can't anymore. "Yeah, we did have sex. I believe you challenged me to do it sober." He takes a step back and smiles, suddenly shy. "So, three years ago today I met the most perfect guy for me. I didn't realise just how much me meant to me until we had been dating for at least two years."_

_He shoves his hand in his pocket and tightly grips the box as he sinks to one knee. "So, now that I've had a year to think about this, I want to be with him forever and always."_

_Niall's so shocked he hadn't expected this. He swallows thickly he can't even think of what to say. "Lou, you're kneeling in snow. You'll ruin your pants." He bites into his lip._

_Louis laughs breathlessly and takes the ring box from his pocket and looks up a little nervously. "Niall James Horan, will you marry me?"_

_"What kind of question is that? Course I will." He wraps his arms around Louis' neck hugging him fiercely._

_Louis laughs boisterously and falls backwards into the snow dragging Niall with him. "Don't you want to see the ring before you make a decision?" He pulls the ring box from between them and holds it up for Niall to take. "Do you even want it?"_

_"Course I do! I said yes." He takes the ring slipping it onto his finger. "It's beautiful." He smiles kissing him on the lips softly._

_"I'm glad you like it." Louis smiles, but quickly turns his head as a coughing fit overtakes him. "Ugh. I think I need to take more cough medicine when we get home." He continues to just lay there holding Niall close. "I love you. I want you to know that."_

_"Yeah. I love you more." Niall snickers pecking his cheek._

\------------

"Forever and always, Lou. What happened to that?" Niall demands stepping away from the hospital bed, furious and hurt.

"Niall, this is my forever. I don't think you get that. Once I'm gone, I don't get anyone else. You're my only one." Louis tries to sit up, but whimpers as the sharp pain shoots across his abdomen. "Please, Niall. I love you and I don't want to fight with you." He props himself up on his elbows, grimacing at the small pain there, but struggling through so he can see his blond.

Niall balls his hands into fist trembling. "You're leaving me! I'm going to be all alone without you! Why would you do this to me?" He's starting to pace back and forth his chest heaving.

"I didn't think I was that far along. I thought I still had a year or so. I wanted to get married and go to Paris for our honeymoon and have a couple months of wedded bliss." He shifts around again until he's managed to make it to a full sitting position. "Niall, please. I love you and just wanted you to be happy." He was tired and out of breath. He didn't want to fight with Niall, but the boy was hurt and rightly so.

Niall shakes his head leaving the room and storming past Liam and Harry. "I can't do this. I can't." He shakes his head angrily.

Liam looks helplessly at Harry before taking off after Niall. "Niall! Niall! Come back!"

He catches up to his best friend and grabs his wrist and twirls him around. "Ni, what are you doing? Your fiancé is lying on his deathbed and you’re leaving? What has he done that is so horrible that you're going to leave him to die alone?" He shouting at the blond, but he's so angry that he's walking out on the sick man.

Niall points to the door angrily. "He fucking knew! He knew he was going to die and he still proposed! He knew we'd never get married!" He's so pissed off and upset and hurt and a thousand other emotions.

"Did he? Did he know? Because from what I heard, he thought you would get married!" Liam is staring angrily at the blond and he's ready to drag him back in that hospital room to apologise. "Do you think he loves you? Do you think he wants to spend the last moments he has with you yelling and fighting? Think, Niall. If you walk out now, do you think you'll be able to forgive yourself?"

Niall pushes Liam away storming back into the hospital room where Louis' at. He's back to pacing. "I can't believe you." He shakes his head wanting to just hit something. "We were supposed to live in a cottage with three kids, a white picket fence, and a dog."

"You think I wanted this? You think I wanted to leave you alone? Niall, I'm scared- petrified- about leaving you. I don't want you to forget me, but I want you to move on and be happy." Louis is sitting up, but the bed is folded up so he doesn't have to hold himself in that position.

A nurse knocks quietly on the door. "Excuse me? I've been ordered to give you another round of morphine so the pain is minimal."

Niall doesn't look when the nurse gives him morphine. He shakes his head, arms crossed. "Had to get married. Can't now." He sits on the edge of Louis' bed staring straight ahead.

The nurse frowns. "You can always get married. We have a Chaplain that works here. Granted, he's more used to reading people their death prayers, but I'm sure he could marry you boys."

"No. I don't want Niall's wedding to be like this. I want it to be everything he's ever wanted. I want his wedding to be perfect." Louis winces as the nurse injects the morphine to his iv and pats his shoulder.

Niall glances over his shoulder. "Really? We could get married right here?" His heart swells at the idea while he laced his fingers with Louis. "This is what I want. Who cares where it happens as long as I'm getting married to you."

Louis looks up at Niall with a pout. "Niall what's the point? I'm not going to be here much longer. And I know how much you want your mum to be there when you do get married. He covered his mouth before a huge coughing fit racks through him and the nurse is there telling him to lie back down.

"I can page the Chaplain if you want, but I need to know now so he can get here in between the prayers."

Louis shook his head. "We don't even have rings Niall."

Niall gets up pulling at his hair. "Give me a minute, love." He leaves the room ignoring Liam. He goes to the room next door knocking lightly, but hurriedly.

An elderly gentleman opens the door and looks at the blond. "Can I help you?" He croaks out between his own set of tears.

Niall suddenly doesn't feel as comfortable. He feels selfish for bothering someone else. "I'm sorry sir." He twists his fingers in the hem of his shirt. "You see my fiancé, he's dying. They're giving him a day at most. They have a Chaplain, but we... We don't have rings." He stutters glancing at the floor. "Actually never mind... I'm sorry for bothering you."

"Peter? Who is it dear?"

The man steps aside to reveal an elderly woman lying in the hospital bed. She looks at Niall and smiles lightly. "Oh, come in, darling. You look so upset."

"Wendy, he wants our wedding bands." Peter says softly.

She looks back over at Niall. "Why would you want them? They're quite old and need to be cleaned."

Niall bites into his lip. "I just want to borrow them. My fiancé has maybe a couple hours left and we want to get married before he passes." His entire body is trembling, breath short and sharp.

The woman smiles. "Of course you can have them. And keep them, dear. Giving them back would only mean they would end up in the ground when we pass."

She works the gold band off her finger and places it in Niall's hand. "Now, go. He probably wants to spend as much time with you as he can."

Peter slips his ring off and drops it into the boy's palm and smiles briefly at the clinking as the rings hit each other.

"Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me." He rushes out looking at Harry and Liam. "Liam, you're my best man, Harry, you're Louis' okay?" He enters the hospital room before they could say anything.

"Lou! Lou, I've got wedding rings. Nurse, can you call the Chaplain?" He sits on the bed, chest heaving.

Louis looks over at Niall and frowns. "Babe, we're in a hospital. Are you sure you want to get married like this? You deserve better than this."

The nurse scurries from the room to place the call and get the Chaplain to hurry.

Niall shakes his head holding Louis' hands. "You're all I care about. You're mine and I'm yours, forever and always right?"

\------------

_They're lying in a park, Niall on top of his whatever they were, his back pressed to Louis' chest. It's summer time, they had admitted to being smitten, but neither had asked the question to make it official._

_"Lou... I need to go, I have a project." He's a little tired that they've slept together six times in the past five months, but Louis' never seemed to want to be more._

_Louis whines and tightens his grip on the boy's waist. "But it's summer. What could you possibly have to do that can't wait until we're not with each other?" He kisses at Niall's skin and bit softly at the juncture of his shoulder and neck. "I really want to just sleep out here with you under the stars."_

_Niall sighs. "Uh... Summer school. Have a really important project you know? I should get going." He tries to pry Louis' fingers off of him. "Do you really want to sleep under the stars or do you want to sleep with me under the stars?"_

_"I mean, I'm not one for public sex, but if you're into that then I guess we can try it." He moves so that he's right beside Niall's ear and whispering lightly. He kisses at his earlobe before nipping and tugging gently at the flesh. "Why didn't you tell me you had summer school? I could've been helping you and stuff."_

_Niall shudders, but he can't take it anymore. He gets to his feet dusting himself off. "We're not having sex in public. In fact we're not having sex period." He sighs walking off. He just needs to get home._

_"Niall! Niall!" Louis gets to his feet and heads after the boy. "What is the problem? We were fine until you just like flipped out. What did I do?" He's confused as to what Niall is upset about. One second they were cuddling and the next Niall is banning sex. "Tell me what's wrong so I can fix whatever I did."_

_Niall scoffs shaking his head. "You don't even know. Why should I tell you?" He continues walking at a pace so Louis is behind. "Sex right? Sex is all you want me for. Well forget it."_

_Louis brows furrow in confusion. "What are you talking about? I want you for more than just sex, Niall. I love you. I thought you knew that. I didn't think I had to tell you that." He stops and thinks. "Is that why you're so upset? Because we have sex? Then we don't have to have it. I'm perfectly fine with just being with you."_

_"But you're not with me. You've never asked me to be anything." Niall groans yanking on his hair.  "Five months and not once have you hinted at being anything. Do you just say I love you to get in my pants?" Niall glares at him over his shoulder._

_"Is that what this is about? Niall, I didn't think I had to ask. I thought everyone- including you- knew that I was with you for more than sex. I thought we were." Louis runs a hand through his fringe. His voice is getting higher and a little hysterical. "Do you want me down on my knees begging you to be with me? If that's what you want, I'll do it."_

_Niall stops walking. "I just want you to ask me properly. I want to know it's more than some physical attraction." He swallows thickly. "I just want to know that you won't leave me for someone new."_

_Louis urges his legs to move and he slowly makes his way until he's standing in front of the blond. "Why didn't you say anything months ago? I don't like it when you leave this stuff bottled up." He reaches out and grabs at Niall's hand and laces their fingers together. "Niall, would you want to be with me? Like properly? I mean... Fuck, would you be my boyfriend?"_

_Niall sighs resting his head against Louis' chest. "I'm sorry I sound like a girl, but I didn't know." He feels really stupid and why does Louis even like him?_

_"You're fine. You have a right to your feelings and opinions." Louis holds him close unsure of what this means. "You didn't give me an answer by the way." He whispers lightly._

_Niall laughs snuggling closer. "Of course I'll be your boyfriend." He leans up to kiss him, smiling against Louis' lips._

_Louis chuckles into the kiss and pulls back to look at his boyfriend. "So do you need help with this project or do you want to do it on your own?" He rests his forehead against Niall's and smiles brightly. "Or do you want to skip the project and sleep under the stars with me?"_

_Niall smiles brushing their noses. "I think I'd rather sleep with you." His cheeks color at the innuendo. Nonetheless he kisses Louis' nose. "I love you."_

_Louis smiles. "Then back to the park we go. Oh, and I'm still upset you didn't tell me you were in summer school." He pulls Niall down the sidewalk back towards the park. He looks over his shoulder at the blond, "I love you too. Forever and always."_

\------------

Niall leans over Louis making sure to be careful of the wires. "Love you so much." He kisses Louis' cheek. "Now we're going to get married."

The nurse pokes her head back in and smiles softly. "He said he'll be here as soon as he can. He still has two more patients to see than he'll be over."

Louis nods and coughs harshly into his hand. "Thank you, nurse." He turns and looks back at Niall. "Are you sure about this? I won't be mad if you just walk away now."

"Louis you're so thick headed, why do I like you?" Niall groans cupping his jaw with both hands. "Oh that's right, I love you. I'm a hundred percent positive."

"I love you too. So much. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I just didn't want you to worry." Louis whispers as he reaches up to hold Niall's hand against his face. "Just promise me that you'll move on and you won't just stop living your life after this. I want you to be happy, Ni."

Niall frowns deeply burying his face in Louis' stomach. "Don't want to move on. I'll be happy one day but I'm not moving on." He takes a deep breath, just enjoying his scent.

Louis winces at the pressure on his abdomen, but doesn't say anything. He wants to enjoy the feeling of Niall as long as he can. "Niall, you have to move on. That's part of being happy- letting go." He runs his fingers through the blond's hair. "You want a pillow? I can't be comfy now that I'm basically all skin and bone."

Niall instead climbs into the narrow bed maneuvering his body to make sure Louis is comfortable. "You've still managed to stay warm." Niall's always loved the natural heat radiating from Louis. "I'm going to be married. I'm not going to even look for another person. Til death do us part."

"Pretty sure that means until the first person dies. You have your whole life ahead of you. Don't miss out on something like love because I was stupid and left you alone." Louis wraps an arm around Niall's waist and holds him close. He yawns and blinks trying to take in the whole situation. "How did you get here? You didn't drive yourself did you? I hate when you drive and you're all panicked. It's not safe."

"Liam drove me. And I take it as both dying. I'm not moving on from you." Niall cards his own fingers through Louis’ cinnamon brown fringe.

"Oh, uh, Harry's your best man so you mind if him and Liam come in when the Chaplain does?"

"Harry and Liam are here?" Louis asks. "Niall, I don't know if I want anyone to see me like this. Hell, I didn't want  _you_  to see me like this." He sighs and lets his eyes slip shut. "I just feel so weak and helpless. I hate this feeling- and worse- I hate feeling like this and letting you know how badly I feel."

Niall kisses his stubbled and sallow cheek. "Louis, please? Do this one last thing for me." He grips the older man's fingers. "If you love me just let me have this."

Louis sighs and nods. "Fine. Only because you mean everything to me." He cracks his eye open and quirks a smile. "I love you, Niall. I feel like I don't say that often enough."

"You say it all the time." Niall rolls his eyes playfully lightly pushing against his shoulder. "I can't believe we're getting married today," he's trying to lighten up the mood by being positive.

Louis smiles lightly. "Can't wait. Louis William Horan-Tomlinson... Sounds good to me." He laces their fingers together. "If we were having a big wedding, where would you want to have it? No restrictions, nothing- not even Buckingham Palace- would say no. Where would you pick?"

Niall bites his lip in concentration. "The beach. It's beautiful and the water in the back with our feet in the sand. Don't like traditional weddings." He smiles softly thinking of them getting married in such a scenic place. "Call me a girl, but I love traditional weddings. I always thought I'd get married in some big cathedral like Westminster Abbey or something."

Louis chuckles before wincing as it turns into a massive coughing fit. He covers his mouth because he can feel the blood in his mouth and there's no way he's going to let Niall see that.

Niall frowns rubbing Louis' bicep soothingly. For a minute he forgot they were even in a hospital to begin with. "It's okay, it's going to be okay." He closes his eyes tightly knowing it wouldn't be okay.

"It's getting so hard to breath." Louis whispers not wanting admit it, but knowing that Niall needed to hear. He wants to cry. This isn't how he pictured dying. He thought it would peacefully in his sleep as an old man or instantaneously in an accident, but never in such a slow, torturous way.

"I'm so sorry." Niall whispers kissing him softly. He can taste blood, but he ignores it. "God I love you." He pulls away.

"Niall... I'm scared. I don't want to die. I don't want to leave you here. I don't want to be without you." Louis is trying to take deep breaths, but he's starting to panic and his vision is blurring and he can hear the heart monitor going crazy. He's crying now. He can feel the tears on his face and he doesn't want this to be it. He still needs to get married and watch his students graduate. He still has to get a dog and adopt three children with Niall. He can't go out like this.

"Calm down! Louis, calm down please!" Niall hurriedly gets to his feet and thrusting the door open.  "Nurse! Nurse!" He shouts voice and body quaking with fear.

The nurse rushes in. "Sir, I'm going to need you to stay outside." She pushes Niall lightly down the hallway slightly as she starts yelling for equipment. "I need a breathing apparatus and sedative stat!"

Niall's pushed into the corridor. He looks around at the door his gut wrenching. He collapses into Liam. "He's not okay. He's in pain." He dry sobs no tears coming and he's pissed. "What the fuck is wrong with me?"

Liam holds him in his arms and rocks gently. "Hey, there's nothing wrong with you. Why would you even think there was something wrong with you?"

Niall doesn't care how loud he is or if anyone's listening to him. "My fiancé is fucking dying and I can't even cry!" He gestures angrily towards the door. "What's wrong with that? I can't shed a single tear!"

"Niall, that's okay. I don't see why that's a problem. Just because you can't cry doesn't mean you don't care. When that door opens you know you're going to run right back in there so why are you worried about a couple tears?" Liam looks down at his best friend. He wants to just lock him away and make sure he's never hurt like this, but he knows keeping him away from Louis would be even worse.

Harry repeats about the same thing to Niall to back up Liam and comfort his friend.

Niall just shakes his head. "I need him. Where the hell is the Chaplain?"

 

The nurse opens the door and steps outside and tries to hide the front of her scrubs from the blond. Louis had coughed up a bit up blood when they had tried to calm him down. "He's asleep for now. We have him on a pretty heavy pain medicine, but the sedative isn't that heavy. He's barely breathing on his own, so we put the mask on him. I'm going to call the Chaplain again. I don't expect him to last the hour."

Niall nodded robotically maneuvering around her to enter the room. He saw the blood yet he ignored it. "Thank you." He sits on the bed once again gripping Louis' limp nearly lifeless hand.

Liam stands in the doorway and watches as his best friends brakes. He can hear the nurse speaking hurriedly into the phone and looks down at his watch.

Nine thirty seven.

The nurse didn't think he'd last the hour. He turns to Harry unsure of what to do. "Harry... It's not supposed to end like this."

Harry pulls Liam into his chest running his fingers through the shorter man's hair. "I know. I know Li." It's not a lie that Harry's had a crush on Liam for six years, but he'd never admit it. Louis is the only one who knew.

"I just broke up with Dani, I can't take losing another friend this soon." He clutches at Harry's shirt and tightens his grip on the cloth beneath his fingers.

Harry frowns rubbing his back to soothe him. "Why did the two of you... End it?" He knows he'll never tell Liam, but it's something he wants to know.

"She's busy with her dancing and I'm busy at work. We never see each other. It seemed better this way." Liam whispers. He stays there in Harry's arms and feels like this whole thing won't be as bad as he thinks it'll be. "We'll have to take care of him once Lou is... Gone. He won't be able to do anything for himself."

"Maybe...maybe we could get a flat together. The three of us could live with one another." Harry bites his lip. "It could be good for Niall." He adds. He doesn't want to sound excited considering it could be strange.

"Yeah... I mean, now that Dani is gone, my flat has two extra rooms instead of one. Maybe you guys could move in with me." Liam looked up at the curly haired boy. He spots the clock behind Harry and his stomach drops.

It's nine forty three.

Harry nods tightening his hold on Liam, burying his face in Liam's neck. "It'll all work out, promise." He kisses his jaw in comfort. He doesn't understand really, he's never had to be strong he's the youngest.

Liam doesn't think much of the kiss, just sees it as his way of comfort. He smiles lightly and holds the boy closer.

The hallway doors burst open and a man dressed in all black with a small bit of white at the collar quickly heads their way. "Where's the couple that wants to get married?" He asks slightly out of breath.

Harry pulls away pointing to the room. "He's in there. You have maybe an hour, less."

Niall can hear talking. He lightly shakes Louis' shoulder. "Babe, I think he's here."

Louis manages to open his eyes slowly, but he can't talk. He sluggishly brings a hand up to the plastic covering his mouth. He doesn't remember what it is and looks over at Niall questioningly and mildly panicked like.

The Chaplain enters and looks at the couple. "Oh, dear..." He swallows heavily. "Are you the young men who wished to be married?"

Niall nods, Louis' hands feeling heavy in his. "Yes. Please can you... Make it short? There isn't... Time." He adjusts his body placing the old rings on the mattress next to him.

Liam enters, his fingers grabbing at Harry wrist to pull him in. "Sorry, just want to see our best friends get married."

Louis tugs at the mask until he finally gets it off and he's taking deep, unsteady breaths. "Harry... Liam... Hey..."

Niall bites his lip grabbing the mask attached to the respirator. "Baby, maybe you should keep the mask on until the kiss." He knows Louis won't live, but he wants to prolong his time here. He at least wants five minutes so he could say he had a honeymoon.

Louis pulls the mask back down and manages to speak very softly. "I wrote... My own vows... Had them ready... Since before I... Proposed."

Liam pushes Harry over to one side of the room and goes to stand behind Niall. "Okay, go ahead and start. Just please be quick."

The Chaplain nods and flips around his book until he finds what he's looking for. "I'll skip the opening. Uh," he skims the page in front of him.

"Here it is." He looks at the two before reading. "No other human ties are more tender and no other vows more important than those you are about to take. Both of you come to this day with the deep realisation that the contract of marriage is scared as are all of its obligations and responsibilities."

Harry places his hand on Niall's shoulder. He looks away from Louis. He just can't stand to see him in that state.

Niall rubs his thumb over Louis' knuckles, squeezing his hand.

"It's time for the exchanging of vows. Son, would you like to start?" The Chaplain asks looking over at Niall.

Liam smiles softly and squeezes Niall's shoulder in support. "Go ahead, Ni. Tell him how you feel."

Niall takes a deep breath looking straight at Louis. "God where do I begin? The day we met I never thought I was gay, but when you called me fit it changed." He chuckles lightly. "You were my first in everything. Kiss, date, boyfriend, intimacy, and now my first husband. My only husband. I love you, forever and always."

Louis tries to squeeze Niall's hand, but can't muster anything more than a finger twitching towards Niall's hand. "That was... Our thing... Forever and... Always." He coughs harshly and tries to get more air, but it's not really working. He can barely hear himself and he wonders if Niall can hear him at all. "I... Love you... Forever... Forever and always... Please just... Remember... Even if... I'm not there... I'll always... Love you... Forever and always."

He feels his eyes drooping shut. Niall is fading from his vision and he wonders if they'll still be considered married if he dies before it's all over.

That's when Niall began to cry. The tears burst from his eyes and all the emotion had been building and building up. His jaw is clenched, throat burning, and his eyes hurting. He's quick to grab the rings sliding one onto Louis' finger and the other on his. He glances at the Chaplain. "Please... Please finish. I want him to hear us together before he leaves."

"Uh," the Chaplain flips a few more pages in his book to the very end. "What are your names?"

"Niall and Louis Horan-Tomlinson." Liam quickly spat out. He had heard Louis early and figured it would be fine if it meant that the couple would be married.

"By the power vested in me by God the father, I now pronounce you Misters Niall and Louis Horan-Tomlinson. You may kiss your husband."

Niall pushes his lips against Louis'; his general shakiness and tears ruining it. "Love you. Love you so damn much." He's repeating the same mantra tears pouring out.

Louis smiles gently. "Niall... We're married..." He tries to get more air, but he can't. The heart monitor next to the bed flatlines and Louis' eyes stay locked on Niall's face.

Liam is grabbing at Niall knowing what's going to happen next and sure enough, the nurse comes rushing in and starts compressions.

"I need all of you out!" She yells as she leans down and tries to fill Louis' lungs with oxygen as well as get his heart restarted.

Niall sobs kicking his feet like a child throwing a tantrum.

Harry comes up only straining Niall's legs after he kicks him a good one against the middle of his chest.

"I can't! I want him back! I need him back!"

The nurse is looking at the heart monitor and sees no sign of a heartbeat at all. She calls it, "time of death is nine fifty eight." She signals to Liam to let the boy go.

The Chaplain starts his prayers and watches as the room slowly turns into a place of despair.

Niall runs from Liam to Louis' bedside. He buries his face in his still chest, crying hard. "Lou! Lou!" He's trembling hard every part of his body aching.

Liam looks to Harry, tears threatening to fall, and collapses into the boy's chest. "He didn't even get to say goodbye."

The nurse moves and places her fingers over his eyes and closes them so it appears that he's just sleeping. "I'm going to get the doctor."

Niall closes his eyes trying to calm himself down. He's no longer making noise, but he's still crying. "I'll be okay." He whispers to himself. Even if Louis isn't physically there, he'll truly be there.

 

Forever and always.


End file.
